Paul Pierce
Paul Anthony Pierce (October 13, 1977) in Oakland, California), nicknamed The Truth, is a small forward/shooting guard for the Boston Celtics. He earned First Team All-America honors in his junior year at Kansas, and has been a starter every season since being selected by the Celtics with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. He's a 6-time All-Star and led Boston to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002 and the 2008 championship. He was named the 2008 NBA Finals MVP in his first trip to the NBA Finals. This year (2010), he helped lead the Celtics to an improbable spot in the 2010 NBA Finals after finishing in 4th place in the Eastern Conference standings. Latest News * Pierce ends the Atlanta Hawks' six-game season-opening sweep in the November 12th game with a 20-foot jumper in the final half-second of the game, winning the game 103-102. Kevin Garnett explained: "The last play was drawn up as get the ball to Paul Pierce and get the hell out of the way. Superman's in the booth. Let's go home." As with the last game, Pierce had ice on his hand immediately after the end of the quarter. "Paul Pierce's shot ends rivals' unbeaten run", The Boston Herald, Mark Murphy. November 13, 2008. * Pierce has had a sprained hand since early November. On Nov 10th, he said, "I've had a sprained hand for about a week and I've been icing it down... I try not to think about it. It's really bothering me. Every time it starts to get better, it gets hit." This hasn't stopped him from scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter against the Raptors on the 10th, and hitting a last-second winning shot against the Hawks on the 12th. "Paul Pierce tries to deal with bad hand", The Boston Herald, Mark Murphy. November 11th, 2008. After the Hawks win, Pierce said that the swelling is going down, but Garnett joked, "We're gonna keep the hand the way it is... We have to put some swelling on that." "All's swell with Paul Pierce's hot hand", Boston Herald, Mark Murphy. November 13, 2008. __TOC__ Background Statistics College: Kansas Years pro: 10 Acquired: Drafted No. 10 overall by Boston in 1998 2008/2009 salary: $18 million Signed through: 2010/2011 Last year's numbers: 19.6 ppg, 4.5 apg, 5.1 rpg Strengths Pierce is able to take the ball to the rim. According to Gary Dzen, author of the Boston Globe's Celtic Blog, Pierce uses his body better than any other player in the NBA. He also exhibits mental toughness that helps the team thrive in clutch situations. High school Pierce, who was raised in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles, California, was the star of his Inglewood High School, playing basketball his junior and senior years. He was cut from the varsity team his freshman and sophomore years, and even thought about transferring schools, but eventually decided to work harder and keep trying to make the team. He also participated in the 1995 McDonald's All-American Game alongside future stars Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison, and was a contestant in the game's Slam Dunk Contest, which was won by Carter. College Pierce averaged 16.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his three seasons at the University of Kansas, where he majored in Crime and Delinquency Studies, and earned MVP honors in the Big 12 Conference Tournament in both 1997 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament and 1998 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament. Pierce played for Basketball coach Roy Williams at Kansas. He entered the NBA Draft after his junior year and was selected with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. h NBA After his NBA debut, Pierce's ability to score, rebound, play defense, and a healthy dose of late-game heroics led to his emergence as a top player in the Eastern Conference. Along with forward Antoine Walker, Pierce led the Celtics to the playoffs in 2002 for the first time in seven years and on to the Eastern Conference Finals. In the historic Game 3 of that series, he led the Celtics to the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history. Pierce scored 19 of his 28 point total during the fourth quarter, and the Celtics recovered from a 21 point 4th quarter deficit to defeat the New Jersey Nets. Pierce has averaged 23.2 points per game over his 9-year NBA career and is a 6-time NBA All-Star. Trade rumors involving Paul Pierce have swirled ever since Danny Ainge returned as the Executive Director of Basketball Operations in May 2003. Ainge laid most of these rumors to rest in the 2006 off-season by signing Paul Pierce to a 3 year, $59 million contract extension. Ironically, Pierce is the only player left from the moment Ainge took over. Pierce has often played his best games against the best individual competition, such as LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant. For instance, Pierce scored a career high 50 points in a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 15, 2006. After the game, James stated that he feels that Pierce is the top at the position in the Eastern Conference (NBA). In the 2005-06 NBA season, Pierce had the highest points-per-shot average among the top 30 scorers in the league, indicating that he is an efficient and consistent player. On March 8, 2006, Pierce extended his franchise-record streak of 30-point games at 8. On March 7, he scored seven points in overtime to beat the Washington Wizards on a "Buzzer beater" , and the next night the Celtics eked out a victory against Philadelphia on the strength of two late-game improbable shots by Pierce, one a three pointer, the other an off-balance "Buzzer beater" for the win. He scored at least 30 points for the 13th time in 14 games (between February 4 and March 12), the best such stretch in Celtics history. He has six career triple-doubles, the most recent on March 8, 2006. He followed up this stellar season with an injury riddled 2006-07 campaign that saw him miss the first significant stretch of games in his career, due to a stress reaction in his foot. In spite of this injury, he still managed to put up his usual stellar numbers in the 47 games he saw action in. 2007-08 NBA season Prior to the 2008, he expressed great excitement at the Celtics' acquisitions of fellow All-Stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and at the chance to contend for a championship. He slimmed down to his college weight of and vowed to pay more attention to defense, as he wouldn't have to carry the offense anymore. Pierce, who has been with the Celtics for 10 years, is tied with Zydrunas Ilgauskas of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks for fourth place among active players who have played their entire NBA career for one team. Pierce became the first Celtics player since Larry Bird to reach 2,000 points in a single season. On April 28, 2008, Pierce was fined $25,000 by the NBA for an alleged menacing gesture after falling to the ground and being taunted by Al Horford in Game 3 of the First Round in the 2008 NBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks on April 26, 2008. Sources claimed this gesture was a gang-related hand sign, but Danny Ainge, general manager of the Boston Celtics, stated that Pierce has been repeatedly doing it before and that it was not gang-related hand sign-related, but rather a symbol used within the team. Records On May 18, 2008, Pierce recorded the 2nd highest point total in franchise history in a Game seven (NBA) with 41 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. On June 5, 2008, in Game 1 of the 2008 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Pierce was injured in the third quarter and was carried off the court in serious pain. However, he came back to the court only a few minutes later to spark the Celtics with 15 points in the third quarter en route to a 98–88 victory. He was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player after the Celtics' 131–92 victory in 2008 on June 17, 2008.jhd;fhhdsfg;sg;y; Stabbing incident On September 25, 2000, Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck, and back while at the Buzz Club, a late night dance club in Boston's theatre district. He had to undergo lung surgery to repair the damage. Nevertheless, Pierce was the only Celtic to start all 82 games in the 2000–01 season. International Pierce was a member of the US national team for the 2002 FIBA World Championship starting all nine games and averaging 19.8 ppg. Pierce was also selected for the United States National Basketball team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, but did not compete because of minor off-season surgery. Sponsorships Pierce is a Nike spokesperson, starring in their "Told You" print ad campaign. He has also appeared an ad for Spalding with the tagline "The truth has a nice ring to it". Personal *Currently lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts and Nevada. *Has been featured in several video games. In the video game NBA Ballers, Pierce gives viewers a tour of his hometown of Inglewood in a helicopter over Los Angeles. *His half brother Jay Hosey played basketball for University of Wyoming|Wyoming, and another half brother Steve Hosey played right field for the San Francisco Giants. *Has a charitable foundation known as The Truth Fund, which lends support to children from the greater Boston area and California inner cities. *His nickname, The Truth, was accorded him by Shaquille O'Neal. After a Lakers' victory over the Boston Celtics in 2002, O'Neal pulled a Boston reporter over and gestured toward his notepad. "Take this down," said O'Neal. "My name is Shaquille O'Neal and Paul Pierce is the motherfucking truth. Quote me on that and don't take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn't know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth." *Shaved his head during the 2007-08 training camp along with the other four Boston starters (Perkins, Garnett, Allen and Rondo). *Made a cameo appearance in the movie The Game Plan. *Made a cameo in the music video "Tight Whips" by the 504 Boyz. *On April 4, 2008, his fiancee, Julie Landrum, gave birth to a baby girl, Prianna Lee, in Boston, Massachusetts. *Pierce told the Boston Herald that he wouldn't mind retiring in Greece or even playing for a Greek team. For now, though, he wants four or five more seasons with the NBA. Pierce told a journalist from Eleftheros Typos that he feels very comfortable in Greece, because there are a lot of Greeks in Boston and also in California, the state where he grew up. Yet, he also told Boston Common magazine he plans to retire in Boston. *Pierce spent his post-title summer trying to lose weight to win another championship. *Pierce told Boston Common magazine that he is a supporter of Barack Obama. Career highlights NBA *'NBA Champion': 2008 *'NBA Finals MVP': 2008 *'3-time All-NBA Third Team': 2002, 2003, 2008 *'8-time NBA All-Star': 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 *'NBA All-Rookie First Team': 1999 *NBA regular-season leader, total points: 2002 (2144) *NBA regular-season leader, free throws made: 2003 (604) College *Named First Team All-America by the Associated Press after his junior year at the University of Kansas. *Named Big Eight Freshman of the Year in 1995-96. *'MVP' of the Big 12 Conference Tournament in both 1997 and 1998. Other *Member of the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. *Member of the 2006 Basketball (Did not play due to an elbow injury). NBA records *'Most consecutive free throws made, playoffs': 21 (Game 1, 2003 Eastern Conference First Round). *'Most free throws made in one quarter, NBA Finals': 10 (Game 5, 2008 NBA Finals). Boston Celtics franchise records *Scored 30 or more points in a franchise record 12 consecutive games *Most points scored in a game at TD Banknorth Garden: 50 (February 15, 2006 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers). *Most points scored in a half (including Overtime): 46 (December 1, 2001 2nd Half vs. New Jersey Nets). *Most points scored in an overtime period: 13 (December 1, 2001 vs. New Jersey Nets) *Most three-point field goals made, career: 989 (1998–present). *Most three-point field goals attempted, career: 2769 (1998–present). *Most free throws made in one game: 20 (November 2, 2002 vs. New York Knicks). *Most free throws attempted in one game: 24 (November 5, 2005 vs. New York Knicks). *Most free throws made in one half: 14 (March 2, 2001 vs. Utah Jazz). *Most free throws made in one season: 612 (2005-06 NBA season, breaking his own record of 604, set in 2002-2003). *Most free throws attempted in one season: 812 (2005-2006, breaking his own record of 753 in 2002-2003). *Most steals in one game: 9''' (tied with Larry Bird; December 3, 1999 vs. Miami Heat). *Most free throws made without a miss, playoffs: '''21 (Game 1, 2003 Eastern Conference First Round). *Most points scored in one half, playoffs: 32 (Game 4, 2003 Eastern Conference First Round vs. Indiana Pacers). *Highest scoring average through one month: 33.5 PPG (February 2006). *Only Celtics player in franchise history to lead the NBA in total points scored in a season, scoring 2,144 points in 2002. *Playing with Celtics he accumulated 2,071 points in 2000-2001. *Career scoring average: 23.6 PPG, 2nd only to Larry Bird. Sources External links *http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3253 at ESPN.com *University of Kansas Men's Basketball *USA National Team *Paul Pierce Official Site *RedsArmy.com: The Voice Of Celtics Fans *Paul Pierce Statistics Category:1998 players Category:1999 players Category:2000 players Category:2001 players Category:2002 players Category:2003 players Category:2004 players Category:2005 players Category:2006 players Category:2007 players Category:2008 players Category:Celtics players